LPD News Blog

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Mr. Crespo was last seen at 7:20 a.m. on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at 1315 W 14th Street #I 105. Joan Camacho, his mother, reported him missing.

Mr. Crespo was last seen wearing blue pants and a black hoodie. He has a tattoo of a tribal with skulls on his top left arm.

Anyone with information on the location of Eladio Lorenzo Crespo is asked to contact Investigative Aide Charlene Ali at 863-834-8974 during business hours, or the Lakeland Police Department at 863-834-6900 after 5:00pm.

At approximately 6:45pm on Saturday, March 21, 2015, the victim, Shavar Lewis, 37 yrs old, and two other arrived at 1135 Martin Luther King Avenue in search of a subject. At this time, Lewis and witness Antonio Callaway became involved in a physical altercation. Diedre Callaway exited the residence with a steak knife swinging her arms and stabbed Shavar Lewis as he was fighting with Antonio Callaway on the ground. Lewis was heard by a witness saying, “She’s stabbing me!” A witness, Jerreail McLeod, retrieved a handgun from within his vehicle and fired several rounds into the air to get the crowd to scatter.

McLeod then drove Lewis to Lakeland Regional Health to be treated. On Sunday, March 22, Lewis was pronounced deceased by LRH staff at 4:22 pm. On Monday, March 23rd, an autopsy was performed on Lewis and the Medical Examiner concluded that Lewis died as a result of a single stab wound to the left side of his back. The wound was consistent with that having been caused by a steak knife with a 5” to 6”” blade.

On March 21st, the Violent Crimes Unit responded to 1135 Martin Luther King Ave and to the hospital to investigate the stabbing. Detectives continued to follow-up with leads and interviews on Sunday and Monday and they identified Diedre Payne Callaway, 52 years of age as the suspect.

On Monday, March 23, 2015, Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Diedre Payne Callaway for 2nd Degree Murder in the stabbing death of Shavar Lewis. At approximately 9:28 p.m. Diedre Payne Callaway was taken into custody at her residence located at 3120 Santa Fe Trail, Polk City, Florida. The PCSO assisted with the arrest which was uneventful.

On March 22, at 11:32 a.m., the Lakeland Police Department responded to a tip that the residence at 624 Hillside Drive was a grow house for cannabis. Officers arrived and made contact with the resident, Yoandris Alvarez Gutierrez. Upon making contact, officers could smell the odor of cannabis. Gutierrez gave consent for officers to search the residence.

Officers discovered that one room in the house had been converted into an active cannabis nursery utilizing environmental control, an irrigation system, electrical power transformers operating high intensity lighting, and twenty-one growing cannabis plants. Some of the cannabis plants were 3’ tall. The entrance to the room was through a small 3’x2’ makeshift door in a closet which also had a heavy odor of cannabis emanating from it. The original doorway to this room had been dry walled over. Further investigation revealed that the electric service line into the residence had been tapped, bypassing the power meter.

Detectives from the Special Investigations Section responded to assist in the investigation. This location is within 500 feet of Carlton Palmore Elementary School. Gutierrez was arrested and transported to the Polk County Jail.

On March 22, 2015 at 3:10 a.m., the Lakeland Police Department responded to Parkway Frontage Road South at the intersection of Old Road 37 in reference to a single vehicle crash.

The vehicle, 2014 Dodge Pick-up was traveling eastbound on Parkway Frontage Road South approaching the intersection of Old Road 37, which curves to the right. The vehicle failed to negotiate the curve striking the guardrail and then hit a tree. The driver was pronounced deceased at the scene by Polk County Fire Rescue/EMS.

There was no indication of braking and it appears the driver was not wearing a seat belt. Next-of-kin has been notified. The crash is still under investigation by a Traffic Homicide Investigator.